European Market Continues Growth at Record Pace

This week, we take a look at the increasing globalization of the data center market; rising energy demands; fire protection tips and the outlook for data center-related stocks in an otherwise stormy market.

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Data Center News Roundup for Nov. 2, 2018

Western Europe Leads the Charge

Iron Mountain VP Eric Boonstra digs into the global data center market this week with a specific focus on Western Europe in a piece on Data Center Frontier. Among his takeaways: the market is evolving and is set for plenty of future growth, especially in the FLAP regions of Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris. He notes that the London market is only second to Northern Virginia in terms of capacity and that the FLAP markets are growing at 12 percent CAGR compared with an average of 4 percent in the rest of the world. Colocation facilities are leading the charge, and Mergers and Acquisitions are popping up around the globe, Boonstra reports. Read the full story here.

Combatting Energy Consumption

This week, Data Center Dynamics takes a look at the global demand for energy, noting that most data centers are not what most people would consider to be sufficiently energy efficient. Stating the obvious? Yes. But with this demand rising, one of the biggest challenges facing the industry is how to become more sustainable and to develop new technologies to combat this consumption. There is a bright side, the article notes: the densification of facilities helps lower the carbon footprint of many data centers, i.e. less space to cool = less power needed to cool the data center. The conclusion? The greenest data center is the one that doesn’t get built. Short of that, there are new technologies on the horizon – particularly machine learning – that can help existing and new data centers become more efficient. Check out the story here.

Taking Fire Threats Seriously

Fires remain a serious threat to data center operators. 3M exec Bart Goeman argues that fire protection is much more than a box to be ticked on your next build – but rather a priority to face head on. With a new generation of fire protection on the market (replacing many Halon-based methods), Goeman argues that it’s time for a whole new approach to mitigating against fire damage in the data center. He discusses the pros and cons of aqueous-based systems, including the potential to damage equipment in certain situations. He also looks at gas-based systems, i.e. argon and nitrogen. These systems are fast and effective, he argues, but require a “greater system footprint” than other clean agent remedies. Then there are the HFC-based products, which he is most bullish on. To see why, read the full piece here.

Stock Market Got You Down? Consider These Data Center Equities.

If you’re the sadistic type who likes to check your 401(k) balance regularly, you’ve noticed some turbulence in the market over the past few months. Though the market had posted a couple of days of gains as of press time, many are predicting that the volatility will continue. Some analysts are suggesting adding data center REITs into portfolios as a ballast against the roller coaster ride the market has taken lately. Data Center Knowledge outlines some of the top stocks to consider for safe harbor over the next few years. Check it out here.

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Complete Data Center design and infrastructure construction services for new data center build-outs, expansions, fit-ups, relocations and migration to colocations. Full service project management, equipment installation, monitoring of heating and cooling as well as capacity planning. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Instor designs and installs data center infrastructure solutions throughout the U.S. and Europe.